At 84, Paul Williams keeps up a schedule that would exhaust someone half his age.
Style called Williams in Nashville where, in his capacity as president and chairman of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), he was preparing to preside over the 62nd ASCAP Country Music Awards.
When not leading ASCAP, he’s working with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro on a new musical based on the movie “Pan’s Labyrinth” or collaborating on new songs with the rock band “Portugal. The Man” among other projects.
“I love how full my life is,” says the songwriter behind dozens of legendary hits by artists ranging from the Carpenters to Daft Punk but who is best known for penning the Muppet Movie classic, “The Rainbow Connection.” “I’ve never felt more useful and I don’t feel as overwhelmed as I probably should be by the amount of work that I’m doing.”
On Dec. 14, Williams will squeeze in a trip to Richmond to appear in two concert performances that will feature music, dance, puppetry and visual art. The concerts are capstone events in a Songwriters Series presented by local nonprofit, FreeHorse Arts.
Co-founded in 2019 by music industry producer, Nancy Muñoz (who is also Williams’ manager), FreeHorse Arts provides inclusive, nature-based programming and equine experiential learning for individuals with diverse abilities, including some who are on the autism spectrum.
The organization’s broad range of programs include “Horse Sense” sessions where participants observe and interact with unrestrained horses, developing a sense of trust, interconnection and non-verbal communication.
Williams’ appearance in the Songwriters Series concerts aren’t just celebrity cameos; he’s deeply committed to the group’s work.
“It was a world that was not really known to me,” says Williams. “But it’s based on principles that I love, seeing the relationship between a human and an animal. I joke that I have an unbridled love for FreeHorse Arts.”
The concert performances have been developed in collaboration with adult participants in FreeHorse programs. “These individuals have been curating and creating the show,” explains Muñoz. “Paul has been teaching them online through programming we offer where they learn sound design, build soundscapes in collaboration with engineers, learn about editing and create their own videos.”
The show will highlight themes of building community and celebrating biodiversity, incorporating performances from FreeHorse participants, guest artists and staff. The songs will be from Williams’ deep catalog but won’t necessarily be the expected hits.
“Paul wrote songs like ‘Evergreen’ [for the version of the movie “A Star is Born” that starred Barbra Streisand] and ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ [by The Carpenters] but they didn’t speak to our participants,” says Muñoz.
Instead, audiences will hear relative rarities like selections from the 1977 TV movie, “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas,” a project Jim Henson directed in the early years of “The Muppet Show” that has recently been adapted for the stage. “Our participants have loved the songs from that show,’ says Muñoz.
Though months of preparation have gone into the performance, Williams’ exact role will likely unfold on the day of the concerts. With decades of experience as an actor, most recently appearing in the TV series “Goliath” with Billy Bob Thornton, he has multiple modes for performing [Williams also acted in the cult classic “Phantom of the Paradise” and the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies].
“Paul has a really intense week prior to the show so I’m hoping he will have a voice left,” says Muñoz. “But I have no concerns about Paul; whether as a singer or a storyteller, he’s very entertaining. Whatever happens on stage will be beautiful.”
That approach dovetails with Williams’ “take life as it comes” philosophy, born out of 34 years of sobriety and decades of work as a substance abuse recovery advocate. “I’ve managed to make my life better by focusing on love and service,” he says.
Williams uses his experience with “Pan’s Labyrinth” as an example of how anxiety can sabotage artists. “We’d written the whole musical, it was progressing and then it stopped,” he says. “I got to the point where I thought, I am just going to let this go.
“Literally the next morning, I got an email that said J.J. Abrams was coming on board as our producer. It was the most remarkable lesson, to just surrender. The older I get, the more I see tension as the enemy.”
“FreeHorse Arts: Stories & Music of Paul Williams Tribute Show” will have two performances on Saturday, Dec. 14 at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, 2880 Mountain Road. Tickets and more information available at https://www.freehorsearts.org/.
